Jay Mathews has a great way of helping parents relax. He'll remind you that teens are going to do things like pick colleges based on how good looking the students are, and he'll make you feel OK that your son or daughter is doing the same. And yet he somehow manages to say things like that and without sounding like he's belittling kids.
His piece today is for parents whose kids arent's as interested in thorougly evaluating colleges as Mom and Dad might want them to be.
"I have collected enough stories about children dragging their feet on college applications to know that losing your temper rarely works. Patience is usually the best strategy. The junior who refuses to talk about college will have a different attitude when he is a senior and some of his friends have realized high school is not forever. Applications can be put together quickly. Some colleges still have spaces long after application deadlines — indeed, long after they have sent out acceptance letters."